Parallel Conversations
by jodm
Summary: At the end of a case, agents share their thoughts.


Hawaii 5-0 and NCIS belong to others. I just like to hang around with them!

This story does contain "teasers" for possible future stories. It's more of a fusion than a cross-over.

**PARALLEL CONVERSATIONS**

"Coffee, Probie?" offered Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs as he pushed the 5-0 office door open with his foot. The dark-haired Navy officer seated at the desk looked up and reached for the cup. "Once a Probie, always a Probie," he muttered, then added, "Tough case; glad it's over. Good working with you again. Don't usually like to share jurisdiction, but. . ."

"You sound more and more like me," the older agent broke in with a grin. "You know, if you'd stayed with NCIS instead of moving to Intelligence and the SEALS, you'd probably be my boss by now—don't know if I'd like to answer to a former Probie, although Director McGarrett wouldn't of sounded too bad."

Steve McGarrett looked at his former boss. "You didn't come here to talk about old times. What's really on your mind?"

"Always appreciated the bluntness," Gibbs answered. "I want to talk about your team—and mine. Know what they're doing right now?" Steve shook his head. "Tim and Abby are over at NCIS Pearl showing Chin around the lab; Ducky and Bergman are swapping stories, with Duck likely doing most of the talking; Ziva's teaching Kono 18 ways to kill someone with a paper clip . . ."

"You left out Danny and Tony."

"Not the point, Probie. You've been a loner for a lot of years. Now you head a special task force. You've got a good team here. I think you know that, but do they? Ever let them know?" McGarrett was silent for a couple of moments.

_Thwack! _McGarrett felt the headslap before he even saw it coming "Ouch, Gibbs! What did I do to deserve that?"

"Asked you a question. Want an answer," Gibbs replied, taking a sip of his ever-present coffee. "I trust and care about my team and they know it. 'On your six' isn't just an expression. We mean it, all of us." Gibbs fixed his former Probie with his patented thousand-yard stare. "I trust my team. Do you trust yours?"

"Of course I do!" McGarrett's angry response erupted like hot lava. "I've known Chin and Kono for years. My Dad was Chin's training officer at HPD! I'd trust them with my life."

"What about Danny?"

"Danno's a great cop, backs me up even if he disagrees with me—which he does a lot."

"Not what I asked. Do you trust him? 'Cause I've got a spot at NCIS Pearl for him if you don't think he's right for your team. "

####################

Detective Danny Williams was struggling with that same question. Special Agent Tony Dinozzo asked again, "Do you trust McGarrett? Enough to stay on his team? 'Cause if you don't . . ."

"Sometimes I hate him so much!" the blond-haired officer replied. "He's always right—or thinks he is. It's like McGarrett's first rule!"

Tony grinned, "It's one of Gibbs' too, right up there with 'Apologies are a sign of weakness,' 'When a case is on, you have no personal life,' and 'Never get between a Marine and his coffee!'"

Danny burst out laughing. "It sounds like Steve learned from Gibbs!'

"He probably did," Tony nodded. "He was Gibbs' first Probie, you know." Seeing Danny's look of surprise—shock—Tony continued, "It was just after Gibbs finished his probationary year and got his own team. He was assigned this Ensign fresh out of Annapolis. It was rough at first. The guy wasn't too happy to have a former gunnery sergeant as a C.O.—after all, he was an officer and never thought he'd be taking orders from an enlisted man. Somehow, they came to terms with their differences. Gibbs never told me the full story, but it seems they had a tough case that almost killed both of them and if McGarrett hadn't been on Gibbs' six, well, Gibbs wouldn't be here today."

"And you most likely would still be with Baltimore PD," Danny added.

"Yeah," the NCIS agent admitted. "Gibbs told me he was pretty much a Lone Ranger at the time. After all, he was a Marine sniper, one of the best, with the medals to prove it. And, he was still dealing with the deaths of his wife and daughter. I think that's probably when he started building boats in his basement. He's not really a Lone Ranger any more."

"Steve's still pretty much a Lone Ranger, but he's learning. At least he apologized the last time he got me shot! He doesn't build boats, though. He's repairing this old car his dad left in the garage." Danny paused for a moment, "So how does Gibbs get the boats out of the basement?"

Tony laughed, "Nobody knows!" Then, in a serious tone, he asked again, "So, do you trust Steve McGarrett?"

The 5-0 detective thought for a moment before replying, "He stuck with me to prove that my former partner Mekka was innocent; he's watched out for me even when he takes outrageous chances; my daughter Grace calls him 'Uncle Steve' . . . yeah, I do trust him. I'm on McGarrett's team—5-0."

"Then stay on his six and let him stay on yours," Tony said quietly, "just like Gibbs and me."

####################

Gibbs questioned again, "So, Probie, do you trust him? Want him on your team? Bottom line."

"Trust Danno? I picked him for my partner—after I almost shot him as an intruder when he was investigating my dad's murder! He tells me he hates me, but he backs me up no matter what. He's saved my life a couple of times. His daughter calls me 'Uncle Steve' and he trusts me to look out for her. He's probably the best cop I know. Of course I trust him! And I want him on my team! Here, not at NCIS!"

"You sound angry about it," the older agent remarked. "What's the problem?"

"Besides you trying to steal my partner? I worry about keeping my team, Danny, safe. We've got a dangerous job. Someone could be hurt or worse every time we go out on a case. And you're right—I've been a loner for a long time, so I take some pretty big chances, but I'm learning. Sure, I trust my team—but can they trust me?"

"Ya think?" Gibbs snorted. Then, quietly, almost to himself, he added, "I couldn't keep Shannon and Kelly safe. I watched Kate die. I barely made it through Jenny's funeral. I've sat in too many hospital rooms with Tony or Tim ordering them to live. I risked everyone's lives to rescue Ziva from captivity in Somalia. Hell, I even left NCIS for a few months to find out if I could trust myself to lead a team! I came back because they needed me and because I needed them! Tony's one of the best field agents I've ever worked with—yeah, maybe even better than you, McGarrett. Tim's a cyber genius, couldn't do without him. Ziva's unique, one of my most gifted agents. Abby's like a daughter, Ducky's my oldest friend . . . it wouldn't be the same without them on my six!"

"So how do you do it?"

Gibbs looked Steve in the eye. "You tell them. You watch out for one another. You stay on each other's six. You trust them to stay on yours. You do the best you can. And sometimes . . . you build a boat."

"Or fix up an old car," Steve added softly. Then, with a hint of mischief, "But how do you get the boat out of the basement?"

_**THWACK!**_

_**-30-30-30-30-**_


End file.
